C, Lent 1 - Luke 4:1-13 "By The Authority"

By the authority of God the Father, a human being is given a renewed being of life in Jesus Christ!  When we are baptised into Jesus’ death and resurrection, we receive life anew, full of the Holy Spirit, giving us a holy life before our Father in heaven! 

Just as Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, we leave the baptismal font full of the Holy Spirit and are led into a worldly wilderness that seeks to starve us of the holy spirituality we’ve received in baptism.

From the spiritual heights of holy baptism, we wander in the wilderness of earthly existence like a wandering Aramean, tempted to wonder if our baptism is really holy.  All of God’s baptised children are tempted to believe baptism is not eternally effective. 

Therefore, some wander away from God and their holy baptism into hopelessness, and find nowhere to dwell, so that their thirst or hunger is not satisfied. (See Psalm 107:4-9)

Some, like sheep flop down and sulk.  They clearly see the darkness of death, the painful reality that  life is death preceded by hard labour.  In flopping down in their darkness, they forget the light of eternal life given to them in baptism.  Therefore, they believe no one can help them in their trouble or distress. (See Psalm 107:10-16)

Some are led away by their desires, into foolish afflictions and addictions.  The food of life first given in holy baptism is rejected. The baptismal life first received then dwindles away and dissipates back into the death that baptism once overcame. (See Psalm 107:17-22)

Some, figure when the going gets tough the tough get going.  They seek to work their way out of the wilderness.  They don’t realise, in doing so, they’re putting aside the very things given to support them in tough times.  A baptismal faith in which the Holy Spirit causes one to be still and know that God is God.  A baptismal faith that demonstrates God’s strength in our weakness.  That in his power, God allows and tempers the tides of worldly turbulence and troubles, in which we’re tempted to wander and wane. (See Psalm 107:23-32)

Jesus faced all of this in the wilderness.  But he did not lose what he received in his baptism at the Jordan – the Holy Spirit, and his Sonship as God the Son.  In your baptism, you have been sealed in Jesus’ Sonship by the Holy Spirit. 

As you hear the Word of God, in this worldly wilderness, the Holy Spirit works belief in you.  Like Jesus, you have received the Holy Spirit in holy baptism, and the Holy Spirit seals you with the promise of salvation, in the good works of Jesus Christ. 

The Apostle Paul tells the Ephesians, “In him we have obtained an inheritance…  In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” (Ephesians 1:11a,13 ESV)

And later, he warns, “…do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30 ESV)

Jesus seals us for the day of redemption by not grieving the Holy Spirit in the wilderness.  He faces the fiery trials of the devil but doesn’t succumb to his temptation.

Jesus put aside the power of his Sonship and took on the weakness of our human flesh.  Then, he was baptised into death as the servant Son of Man.  With the same weakness as us, he was given the Holy Spirit and was tempted as we are tempted, yet he did not sin.

We hear of three temptations put before Jesus by the devil.  The first is physical hunger and the temptation comes through a question, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” (Luke 4:3 ESV)

The devil seeks to get Jesus to prove his Sonship, to use his heavenly power, by turning a stone into bread.  Later on, five barley loaves and two fish are used to feed five thousand, but not now in the wilderness and not the way the devil wants Jesus to do so.

Jesus doesn’t give in to the temptation to use his Sonship, to make bread when he was hungry, nor does he when he feeds the five thousand.  Jesus responds to the devil with God’s Word, “It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone.”  (Luke 4:4 ESV)

Jesus, the Son of Man, lives with faithfulness to the Father, not on bread alone!  At the feeding of the five thousand, with his divinity set aside, he faithfully prays to the Father.  Then, in the weakness of his human flesh, he faithfully feeds the five thousand as the servant Son of Man, full of the Holy Spirit. 

Then in Luke’s Gospel, the devil temps Jesus with pride and power to receive all authority and glory from the kingdoms of the world.  But to get this he has to turn his back on the Word of God.  He has to break the first commandment, bowing to worship the devil. 

Yet again, Jesus remains faithful to the Father in his baptismal mission of mercy.  Like in the first temptation, Jesus’ defence is the Word of God, and he rebuffs the devil, saying, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’” (Luke 4:8 ESV)

The devil can’t separate Jesus from the Father, despite showing him humanity from one moment in time.  I imagine Jesus was shown humanity in all its ugliness and suffering.  But there is no way Jesus abandon’s his relationship despite the devil’s coercion that might seem rational to get control for the “greater good” of humanity. The only good is the good of the cross in all its ugliness.  Jesus is faithful to God, looking to the good and evil of the tree of the cross, to repair God’s creation for the greater good of God.

In the third temptation, the devil uses the Word of God, having been foiled by the Word of God in the previous two temptations.  Of all places to tempt Jesus, the devil takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, and says, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here…” (Luke 4:9b ESV)

Again, comes the questioning of Jesus’ Sonship but the devil uses parts of Psalm Ninety-One.  It’s shrewd, but like anyone who uses parts of God’s Word to deceive, a wider reading reveals the weakness and shallowness of their deception.

The devil begins his quote with the same words with which Jesus rejects the devil the previous two times, saying, “for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and  ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” (Luke 4:10–11 ESV)

Yet, as we have spoken in Psalm ninety-one earlier, we know the deception of the devil.  For the next verse of the psalm reveals the deceit of half-truths. We hear that Jesus will, “tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.” (Psalm 91:13 ESV) This is the promise and fulfilment of Jesus at the cross, first proclaimed by God in the Garden of Eden, “he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15 ESV)

This is repeated by Paul for the encouragement of the Romans and us, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” (Romans 16:20 ESV)

The devil who is bound and crushed by Jesus in his victory over sin and death, still has limited authority, but only on earth for a period of time. Though judged and condemned, the devil has been allowed to test us to further condemn himself.  We like Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit can crush the devil underfoot with Jesus and his Word, saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Luke 4:12 ESV)

In Revelation chapter twenty, John sees the last day where, “the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10 ESV)

Be encouraged in these days of difficulty, walking in the wilderness, to walk with Jesus.  He went into the wilderness full of the Holy Spirit and came out of it and into Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus endured in his hometown of Nazareth, full of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus having endured in human flesh endures in us.  In Jesus’ baptismal Sonship, walk in the wilderness by the authority of Jesus Christ, full of the Holy Spirit.

Know that being filled with the Holy Spirit in God’s holy baptismal reality, you are being daily renewed in Jesus’ reality because he endured our reality and promises, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Luke 4:18–19 ESV)

Amen. 

B, Post Pentecost 25 Proper 27 - Psalm 127 "Little Pigs"

We all know the tale of the three little pigs who built three houses to protect themselves from the big bad wolf. 

A house of straw was built by the first pig whose labours proved nothing for the big bad wolf to huff and puff and blow the house down.  He runs to the second pig who built his house of sticks.  But his house also succumbs to the wind of the wolf, albeit with a few extra huffs and puffs.  They then find shelter in the third house that their brother had built out of bricks. 

The wolf cannot blow the house down and is tricked into climbing down the chimney with the idea he can devour the three little pigs once inside.  However, at the bottom of the chimney is a boiling pot of water put there by the pigs.  The wolf is scalded to death in the boiling cauldron and as nursery rhymes go, they all live happily ever after.

The three pigs now live without fear, trusting in what they’ve achieved, to pursue whatever they desire to do.  Like winning the lottery, they live limited only by what they can imagine. 

Fast forward to a time in the future.  Where are those three, aged pensioner pigs now?  How have they fared in the wake of the wolf?

They’ve got families now!  Little pigs upon little pigs litter their properties!  Prosperity has also seen the three little pig enterprise grow into a massive operation.  In the eyes of many outside the organisation, these three porkers of pleasure have become what the big bad wolf was, ruling their kingdom in their power and glory.

But really, how healthy are the three pigs?  Yes! They have become masters of their domain.  Yet all three live in suspicion of each other.  The two pigs that fled to the third pigs house of brick, ride on the rigorous planning and work the third little pig always seems to produce.  Two pensioner pigs and their families live in laziness, loving the life afforded to them by their brother.  But this third little pig resents them for their life of ease while he, a workaholic, can’t stop building and planning for the future.

But his work has taken its toll!  The stress of keeping his enterprise afloat sees him riddled with cancer with days to live.  There’s a new big bad wolf in the house and he can’t escape it.  Nor is it any better for the other two and their families.  Their life of luxury sees them suffering from all the diseases of a delightful life.  Now that their brother is dying, and his children will inherit the dynasty, they will not be able to continue affording the medications that mediate their lives.  Their attitude to working and life is so engrained they now resent the third pig as a big bad wolf for not giving them more of what they have selfishly taken.

As listeners and observers of this extended fable, built on the three little pig nursery rhyme, you will have identified with events that have recently occurred in the media, the community, and perhaps even your own life.  If not the events, perhaps the health struggles, or the feelings with which you daily deal, living with others.

We are all builders of some sort.  It’s in our DNA to build stuff.  We get this from God, our Heavenly Father.  He is the eternal builder; he created heaven and earth!  Yet what we build shows that although we get the gift to build from God, we use it in a way that does not please God.

In Psalm 127, King Solomon the builder of the temple in Jerusalem, raises up the reality that the Lord God is the true builder and keeper, and the consequences for us when we usurp him.  As we’ve heard, Solomon says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” (Psalm 127:1–2 ESV)

Three times we hear that unless it comes from God, works are worked in vain.  In fact, this word, “vain”, means a deed of destruction rather than construction, and a deed that brings desolation rather than habitation.

Unless the Lord builds, those who build, construct with destruction.  Unless the Lord watches, those who watch, watch their destruction.  It is for desolation that you rise early and delay rest to carve your idols.  To “carve your idols” is the literal meaning of “eating the bread of anxious toil”.

We all pray to our Father, “your kingdom come”.  However, how often are we led into the temptation to build our own kingdoms?  But for what?  Solomon spells out the reality… vanity that leads to destruction and desolation!

If we return to the three little pigs there are three shelters built, a straw house, a house of sticks and a building of bricks.

Those of us who build straw houses trust in things that are short lived.  So much of what’s relied on today are straw houses built for immediate gratification.  Here today gone tomorrow, knowingly temporary at best.  The easy road that leads to destruction.

Then some build houses of sticks, that are transitory as well.  They might last a lifetime.  However, they too become dwellings of destruction and desolation.

Those who trust in the first two dwellings, do so to their detriment.  Trusting in the third dwelling brings destruction too but it’s different, it’s built of brick!  This is the place where most dwell, having fled the transient houses which have not served us well in this life.  But this house of brick that seemingly protects us from the big bad wolf, that seemingly drowns all the big bad desires in life, is actually the dwelling in which the spirit of our destructive desires, seeks its daily resurrection in those who trust in its walls.

The fairytale temptation to build our own kingdom might seem all good in a house of brick.  But the house remains to decay in this world, long after your frame has decayed in its grave.

Unless the Lord, our Father, builds the house, we do so in vain!  The kingdom, the power, and the glory are his, not ours!  What kingdom are you building for yourself?  As I’ve mentioned, we’re all builders, it’s in our nature!  But what does your building exalt?  What god is glorified?  In what kingdom is your trust?  Whose power is working in your world? 

In this Psalm God invites you to look into yourself and see the kingdom you’re building, the power with which one builds it, and for whose glory you’re building it!  In his word God reveals human construction as destruction and humanity’s efforts for habitation as bringing desolation.

The second half of Psalm 127 Solomon speaks about habitation, through producing children.  We hear, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.” (Psalm 127:3–5 ESV)

It seems the little pigs after surviving the big bad wolf, set about making more little pigs!  Many in the church today see the future of the church as children. 

So, by the will of man children are produced, by the will of man children are thought of as the church, and by the will of man the children flee the straw idol that’s been constructed for them in the fairytale minds of others.  Every child of God is presented with a kingdom coming, then they’re encouraged to embrace the straw, stick, or a brick kingdom that’s not built by God!  Some reject these, only to flee to other fairytale dwellings.  But some realise the grave reality of our situation, trusting what our Maker tells us in his Word!

The reality of the matter is this:  pigs don’t build houses!  That’s a fairytale!  Likewise, humans don’t build heaven!  Worse than a fairytale, building your kingdom is a deceptive lie that brings eternal desolation and despair!  When one tries to build heaven, they’re just creating a place in hell!  The kingdoms we humans believe we’re building are myths and mirages, vanities that lead to destruction, desolation and despair.  In a huff and a puff these houses are blown down forever! 

Still, there’s another little pig who didn’t build a house, nor ran away, but allowed himself to be built as the foundation and cornerstone of the Father’s eternal house.  He was nailed to a tree in time,  even though he was with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the beginning to create all things.  In this holy house, God’s house, the devil is truly cooked!  He knows it!  And he rages in these last days to deliver as many as possible into destruction and desolation!

However, you are holy bricks in this holy house of God!  If you believe in the Cornerstone, you have the right to be God’s children. You are the bricks being baked and built into the eternal kingdom of God!  Gathered together and built by the Holy Spirit into an eternal dwelling!  Built into a holy place where Jesus is worshipped through repentance of sin, confessed that he is the resurrection and the life, for the forgiveness of your sins and the sins of those around you.

As God builds you into his house, you’re in his kingdom, in all his glory, in all his power, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

C, Lent 1 - Luke 9:28–43 & 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 "Wealth in the Wilderness"

Romans 10:11–13 (ESV)  For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.  For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

When Jesus was confronted by Satan in the wilderness, Jesus knew of a greater reality than Satan.  We might think, “Yes, he knew because he was the Son of God!”  But if it was because he had higher power as the Son of God, he could not be the Saviour of you and me, or any other person.  There would be an unbridgeable gap, between the greatness of the Son of God, and the weakness of humanity.

However, the greater reality to which Jesus was akin, was not his relationship to God as the powerful Son.  But rather, his human weakness and perfect trust, allowing him to put aside his divinity, and wander in the wilderness, knowing his Father in heaven would hear him in his human weakness.

Jesus was no less hungry than any person would be, having been wandering in the wilderness for forty days.  His desire for food would have made his stomach wrench in pain. 

As he wandered alone without kingdom or someone to talk to, the human desire for partnership and property, a place to call home, would have been made all the more painful by the searing heat of the sand and loneliness. 

And when Satan took him to God’s temple in Jerusalem, and challenged him with the Word of God, the temptation to justify the evil inclinations of Satan and listen to him rather than trusting God would have been just as enticing to Jesus as they would be for you and me. 

In all three temptations, Satan temps Jesus with the question, “If you are the Son of God?”  He tempts Jesus to reveal his power as Son of God, so Satan could use it against Jesus, and those Jesus calls through the Gospel.  Satan wants to demonstrate a divide between the divinity of God and the weakness of humanity.

But Jesus repels Satan, and because he does, we can too!  Like Jesus we need not tap into the wealth of our works, the abundance of our intellect, or the power of a higher lived life.

No!  Instead, we are called to “not” let shame, desire, or a need to prove ourselves worthy, lead us into temptation.  Rather, we are called to trust God with the wealth of weakness, just as Jesus bore his weakness as wealth in the wilderness.

After all, just like Jesus, you and I are travelling with the riches of God through this life.  Just like Jesus you carry his wealth of weakness in the wilderness.  How can this be?

When Jesus enters the wilderness, we hear he didn’t go by his own effort, but was led there by the Holy Spirit.  Mark’s Gospel says it even stronger, saying, “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.”   (Mark 1:12 ESV) Literally, the Spirit threw him out into the wilderness.

Jesus works with a greater reality, and we are called to do the same, even unto death.  He knows the suffering that this will bring to us. 

He says, “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.  Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation.  Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.”  (Revelation 2:9–11 ESV)

Just as Jesus entered the wilderness, led by the Holy Spirit, you have been given the Holy Spirit and he will lead you in your weakness.  This is the richness of God’s wealth working for you, despite your human spirit desiring and scrambling to save face from the shame of being seen weak in the world.

Saint Paul tells the persecuted church in Rome, “For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.’  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.  For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

So, what are the riches of God?  And how do we get them?

Firstly, Jesus himself, the perfect human man, submissive in weakness to our heavenly Father, is the greatest gift to all of us.  He is our wealth in the wilderness of our lives.  His love for the Father, trusting solely in him, and not in himself being the Son of God, is his gift to us.  However, because he is the Son of God who humbly submits in weakness and trust, makes this gift forever more profound and great!  

Similarly, as Jesus trusted in the Father, we are called to daily trust Jesus for giving us the gift of faith, and for the perfecting of faith within us, even as we have been made holy Sons of God in baptism.  We literally trust Jesus by calling on his name, and in calling on him we are saved.

Calling on Jesus’ name allows us to look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  (Hebrews 12:2 ESV)

Secondly, the great wealth or richness we have is the Holy Spirit.  When we call on Jesus’ name the Holy Spirit is given.  The Holy Spirit and Jesus are inseparable and when we call on Jesus, we get the Holy Spirit as well.

Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit after receiving the Spirit in baptism, we too have received the Holy Spirit in baptism.  In fact, we not only receive the Holy Spirit, but also God the Father and Jesus Christ, God the Son, in all his risen power and glory.  Therefore, just as Jesus is the founder and perfecter of faith, the Holy Spirit is the worker of faith within us.

When the Holy Spirit works faith within us, he is working holiness in us.  If we were to work faith, we would work faith in ourselves and work our way out of the weakness Jesus worked beating all the deeds of the devil and his evil entourage.  In fact, we would work Jesus and the Holy Spirit out of ourselves.  Ultimately, we would do what the devil sought to do to Jesus when he sought to tempt him in the first place.

Thirdly, the great wealth we have is the richness of the written Word of God.  Paul tells us in Romans chapter two verse four, the riches of God are kindness and forbearance and patience, and are meant to lead to repentance. (Romans 2:4 ESV)

This gift is not to lead us to shame and hiding but repentance through confession.  Shame is replaced by belief and trust in Jesus.  We too, endure in weakness, with the wealth of the cross, and despise its shame, looking with trusting joy to the Lord our God. 

The gift of the written Word keeps us from becoming delirious in the wilderness.  The richness of the Word stops us from becoming transfixed on any mirages of fleeting earthly wealth.  All this kind of wealth will vanish the moment we leave this worldly wilderness and stand before the Father, on the day of judgement.

Hear how Jesus both disciplines and loves us in his Word, so we can be saved.  He says, “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.  I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.  Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” (Revelation 3:17–19 ESV)

What is this gold, refined by fire, which we are to purchase?  It's the wealth of his weakness where he trusted his Father, all the way to death on the cross, descent into hell, and resurrection from the dead to the right hand of the Father.  This gold of God is the forgiveness of all our sins.

How much does this gold cost?  It costs you nothing!  This gold makes us rich in the righteousness of Jesus, and it opens our eyes in this wilderness to the wealth of love God has for us.

Therefore, be zealous for the weakness of Jesus!  Covet his weakness and call on his name!  It will not lead to shame!  Instead, you will be saved by his wealth in the wilderness. Amen.

C, The Epiphany of our Lord - Matthew 2:1-12 "Worship God in a Trough?"

Matthew 2:1–12 (ESV) Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,  saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”  When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;  and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.  They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:  “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”  Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”  After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.  And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.  And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Watching kids play when they are little, they so easily roll around on the ground, get up, run around, and in an instant drop back down on the ground with little to no effect. 

As one gets older, the prospect of getting down on the ground is somewhat more troubling.  Getting down is usually okay, but it takes more effort to rise up again, and stand on one’s own feet.  Grandparents trying to keep up with toddler grandchildren, know all too well, it takes them more time to regain vertical stability than it does for their energetic grandchildren.

There is also the very real danger of falling when one gets older.  Both the fall and the inability to get up, can cause physical injury as well as mental trauma if there is no one around to help.  As one gets older, one tries not to overdo things, too much, to lessen the chance of a fall.

However, falling down is exactly the language of paying homage or worshipping.  A number of different words are used to describe what we in English would say is “to worship”.  Here at the start of Matthew’s Gospel, to worship, is a word of submission.  Literally, it paints a picture, of making oneself lower than the person you are worshipping.

Another good picture is that of a dog being submissive to its owner, or the leader of the pack.  In fact, the word for worship here uses the Greek word for dog, kuon (pronounced Koo -ohn).  One who has the picture in their mind of a dog crouching and licking the hand of the person it is trying to please has a good picture of what it is to worship.

Another good picture of worship is that of one who falls down and kisses the feet of those to whom they submit.  When the wise men came to worship the new king to which the star had led them, on seeing Jesus with Mary with the Christ child they fell down and worshipped him.

Herod, on the other hand, said he wished to worship Jesus in the same way.  But proved otherwise, when he sought to kill Jesus, by murdering the baby boys of Bethlehem.  He slaughtered them and cast them down in the dirt, so he would remain top dog, so to speak!

Incidentally, the slaughter of the male infants of Bethlehem is commemorated on December 28 as Holy Innocents Day on the church calendar.  Although it is not a pleasant story, it ties death to the birth of Jesus Christ.  It shows the fallenness and corruption into which the innocent child Jesus was born and struggled.  We are reminded of the innocence by which he was led to the slaughter on the cross because our fallenness, corruption, and experience of sin put him there.

Today we focus on the celebration of the Epiphany.  Epiphany rounds out the twelve days of Christmas and is traditionally celebrated on January 6.  It’s a continuation of the Christmas season but holds at its centre, Jesus being revealed as the Son of God, the King of Kings.  The wise men, traditionally kings and astrologers from the east, seek to fall down before this child as the king of the Jews.

Now that Jesus has been revealed as the baby boy born in Bethlehem, the first and last Sunday after Epiphany are revelations of Jesus being the Son of God.  Literally Epiphany means “to reveal”. And the first Sunday after the Epiphany is Jesus’ baptism where God declares that Jesus is his Son with whom he is well please (Luke 3:22).  

And similarly on the last Sunday of Epiphany, just before Ash Wednesday and Lent, is Transfiguration Sunday, where on the mountain of transfiguration the curtain of invisibility is drawn back.  The three disciples see Jesus in all his heavenly radiant glory, together with Moses and Elijah.  God again says, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” (Luke 9:35)

In between these two revelations of the Epiphany season, Jesus’ divinity is revealed through the accounts of his miracles, his proclamation as the fulfilment of Old Testament Scripture, the Law, and his rejection by the people of Nazareth.

Incidentally, Matthew uses the same worship language, of bowing down and licking the earth like a dog, when the devil tries to tempt Jesus to worship him, on the false promise of receiving the kingdoms of the earth and all their glory.  To which Jesus says to him, “Be gone, Satan!  For it is written,  ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” (Matthew 4:10 ESV)

As you age and lose the ability to fall on the floor and instantly jump back up as children do.  As the fear of falling down grows, not being able to get up, with the very real possibility of being left for dead.  You are called to ponder the mystery of this child laying in the manger as the one revealed to be the King of Creation, weak and unable to get up.  Who needs to be fed, and have his toileting attended to, as you did in infancy and might again need to have done in all humility as you age!

You are called to ponder the calculating ruthlessness of Herod and his unwillingness to fall down before anyone, remembering how we too sin with calculating ruthlessness.  Especially, as you age and God challenges your pride, seeking to remove all the idols from your life.

Ponder the Son of God lying in a food stall, and your embarrassment if you were the wise ones coming to worship this King of the Jews.  Would you fall down in manure of the cattle and sheep yards to submit to a God in a trough?    

You have all had victories in this life!  Regardless of what they were, even having the smallest triumph taken away by the loss of physical ability or reason, reveals not the starry height of our abilities and successes, but the truth of our inability.  This truth and reality is death!  We have no power to stop it!  It’s the highest hurdle and the greatest cross to bear in this life!

But in our aging and decline, and the growing knowledge and reality of lying down and licking the hand of death.  Ponder Jesus!  

Jesus was born for the single purpose to die!  Who despite being the Son of God, willingly set his face towards Jerusalem, knowing full well he would be laid down in death after being lifted up on the cross, and crowned the King of Kings! 

Why does he do this?  Because he came to right the wrong of humanity’s calculating ruthlessness!

He came and submitted to us in death to save us from death! 

He came to be the King of the Jews and the Gentiles, at his coronation on the cross, lifted up on the throne, as an embarrassment to the Jews, and us Gentiles. 

He came to lie down in death, so that when you fall down in death, he, having also licked the dirt like a dog in death, will pick you up in life forevermore. 

Therefore, worship God in the sweetest submission! 

Submit to him in hope, peace, joy, and love! 

Know God wins in death because he won in Jesus’ death and resurrection!

See Jesus’ submission to God the Father, and to you!  He came down and was born as a baby, he lay down in the manger, he lay down in submission to death for your sin, he descended into hell, so you and I have the right to be the children of God. 

You can worship and praise God with all the energy as that of God’s little child, knowing that you now live in the mystery of eternal life without the consequences of sin and knowing Jesus will lift you up from your manger of death.  Amen.

C, Advent 4 - Hebrews 10:5-7,10 "God's Mighty Arms"

Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.  Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”   And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.  (Hebrews 10:5–7,10 ESV)

These are the strengths of God in our lives: For Jesus to save us, and the Holy Spirit to help us!

From his mighty arms he gives us all we need in this life.  Salvation and sanctification are two arms of love outstretched toward us, from the Father of light, through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.  For God to save us and make us holy, is his will for all people on earth.  God’s will is your forgiveness of sin, and his will is for you to believe you are forgiven.

Not only is salvation through Jesus and being made holy by the Holy Spirit, God’s strength in our lives; it also pleases God when we take every opportunity to immerse ourselves in his salvation and holiness. 

When we do this, it’s a “win win” situation for us.  When one is immersed in salvation and holiness, God the Father is justified in his power and plan, and we are forgiven.  This forgiveness comes through the incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension of his Son, Jesus Christ.  And the Holy Spirit continues bringing forgiveness, first at Pentecost, then through the Word of God and through baptism into Jesus’ death and resurrection and through his body and blood in the bread and wine.

When we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “your will be done”, it pleases God no end, to hinder and defeat every evil scheme and purpose of the world, the devil, and the old Adam within us.  In fact, when God’s will is done in heaven, he forgives us, sin is conquered by Jesus in his death and resurrection. He has victoriously ascended to the right hand of God the Father, finishing our separation from our Father in heaven.  Jesus now stands as the embodiment of the resurrection as the first born from the dead for all people who trust in him.  This includes you and me!

Although God’s will is done in heaven by God forgiving us our sin, and the devil has been conquered and thrown out of God’s presence, the devil still has limited power on earth.  And because of this, God’s will continues to be done on earth.

This makes earth the testing ground for humanity, where within each of us the battle rages between the will of God and the will of fallen humanity.  With his plan and power of salvation and holiness, God seeks to work forgiveness and good will as we live together.  Yet, the old Adam within each of us struggles to dominate with its knowledge of good and evil, driven by the devil.  And the devil is delirious and riddled with rage because he knows he is judged and is heading for eternal destruction with limited time left to deceive the world.

However, the contest between the devil and God is unbalanced.  God is not going to lose.  He is going to win, and it pleases him when we choose to remain with him.  It’s no wonder evil causes so much fury within those who desire to be in control and do not want to be delivered from evil by God into eternal holiness.

Not only is the devil on the losing side and is limited for a brief time in the restricted realm of creation amongst humanity, but he can only be in one place at one time.  On the other hand, God is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent.  This means God is present everywhere, he knows all things and he is all-powerful.  And the devil is not, nor is humanity, nor is the old Adam within each of us.

Furthermore, this evil axis of the devil, the world, and our sinful self, is up against the three-fold divinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  The Trinity is all-powerful, all-knowing, and present everywhere in creation and outside of it.

Since God’s will is done in heaven, we know it is done on earth.  Jesus is at the right hand of the Father doing his work of interceding on behalf of you and me.  The Holy Spirit is at the left hand of the Father being our help, giving us the words to pray and leading us into knowledge of our sin and salvation in God’s Word.  The Holy Spirit also brings us into fellowship with the Father through Jesus Christ and with each other.

The good news for you and me is that the Triune God embraces all who trust in him with the steadfast love of salvation, intercession, and holy help.  And this pleases God when we allow him to love us with his Trinitarian holy hug.

Mary says of God, “for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.  And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.  He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.  He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy.” (Luke 1:49–54 ESV)

Mary declares God’s love as an embrace of mercy.  Mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation… in remembrance of his mercy.  In his mercy, he helps, fills, and exalts those who look to him.  But dismisses those who won’t receive his mercy, but rather, trust in their thoughts, thrones, and treasures.

But, our thoughts, our thrones, and our treasures all come from God in the first place!  It doesn’t please God when we trust in them instead of him.  Nor does it please him if we give him what he first gave us as a sacrifice for our salvation. 

Both trusting, in what God has given us, and, giving it back to him, is a feeble attempt to justify the human spirit, the old Adam within or the collective spirituality of worldly humanity.  And it’s a deception of the devil seeking to have us believe we can deliver ourselves out of evil into the holiness of God by doing such things!

But God has a Mighty Righthand Man praying for us.  Jesus Christ is the almighty power of God’s right hand!  God has fought and won the battle with the strength of Jesus’ love, faithfulness, and submission unto death.  And even despite God giving the knockout punch to sin and death in Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit also proceeds from the Father and the Son to help us, and deal with the human spirit with which the old Adam seeks to control and deliver us into self-destruction and death.

God’s will for you is to give you life, today and into eternity!  Psalm 80 testifies to God’s righthand man, the son of man, Jesus Christ, who is made strong for God’s good pleasure, for our salvation, and for goodwill amongst humanity. 

Yet, in our existence it might not always be apparent that God’s will for you is to give you life.  In fact, most of the time it appears God has delivered us over to death and decay.  

Similarly, when you look at Jesus’ ordinary entrance into the world, his life of struggle and opposition received, it looks like Jesus was not God’s righthand man.  That God had left him to die and decay also. 

Still, as Jesus stared death in the face, as the cross and crucifixion awaited him, he was faithful and steadfast towards God’s will, which is your forgiveness.

You too are called to faithfulness and steadfastness, despite what might appear as if you have been left for dead.  But just as Jesus was raised, you too are called to see your resurrection in Jesus’ resurrection.  It pleases God when you see and hear his plan for your salvation fulfilled in Jesus’ death and resurrection.

For God to give you life, he needs to show you darkness, destruction, and death within yourself, so you might willingly receive his restoration and let his face shine on your darkness so you might be saved. 

Hear Psalm 80… But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!  Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call upon your name!  Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!  Let your face shine, that we may be saved!  (Psalm 80:17–19 ESV)

Jesus now shepherds you in his forgiveness.  His face shines on you in his good pleasure.  But it also shines in the darkness to show the way of peace.  Jesus, together with the Father, sends the Holy Spirit to guide you and help you remain within his boundaries and to live, the life he won for you, in peace. 

God promises Jesus will shepherd you in his church.  The prophet Micah declares on God’s behalf, “And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.  And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.  And he shall be their peace.” (Micah 5:4–5a ESV)

In God’s mighty arms there is peace and love, to the ends of the earth.  Amen.